Leonie von Zesch: More Than Just a Pretty Smile

I can not fathom what it would be like to put my fingers in peoples’ mouths all day long searching for cavities and other dental problems. That career takes a combination of professionalism, dedication, and compassion.

Before 1900, almost all dentists in America were men. And very few of them ever practiced out of a Model T car amid the rural populations of Arizona.

But Leonie von Zesch did.

Born in 1882 in Texas, Leonie managed to find her way to California and graduate in 1902 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in San Francisco. At first, she worked for and with other dentists who already had established practices. Her reputation grew as a hard worker and skilled dental physician.

Leonie’s Life Changing Event

Then on April 18, 1906, Leonie and her mother were awakened by the unworldly experience of having their house tremble, then shake violently. Quickly realizing that an earthquake was about to occur, the two women sought shelter. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was one of the deadliest on record. More than 28,000 buildings lay in ruins, and fires spread out of control for three days. Leonie and her mother joined other refugees at a US Army field hospital.

Both women quickly volunteered: Mrs. Von Zesch helped the Red Cross, and Leonie offered her service as a dentist. She would be the first female dentist to work for the US Army.

For the next three months, Leonie worked out of many army tents repurposed as field hospitals. She provided dental service to hundreds of earthquake victims. Once the city of San Francisco formally took over the relief efforts, the city found a male dentist to replace her.

Ahem.

Once the clean-up from the earthquake had passed, Leonie looked for ways to open a practice. Both solid real estate and dental tools were hard to come by, so she took a job working as a dentist in the Children’s Hospital of San Francisco and planned to save as much as possible to establish a practice. Working at the children’s hospital spurred Leonie to make children’s dental health a priority.

Still, without a practice, Leonie decided to leave San Francisco in 1908 to seek an area of the country where she would be valued. She returned to her hometown of Mason, Texas, and opened for business.

Then in 1912, when her mother decided to return to San Francisco, Leonie went to visit Winslow, Arizona, and help treat some of the residents who needed better dental services. She agreed to a three-week stay and ended up living and working there for three years instead.

While in Winslow, Leonie realized that people who live in isolated rural areas do not have the luxury of regular dental visits. So, she bought a Model T car, packed up all her dental tools, and took off to the open road with her self-equipped mobile office.

She would stop at Native American reservations and small outposts to treat anyone who needed dental work and provided free dental services to children. She would spend weeks along dirt roads and then return monthly to her practice in Winslow.

Alaska Beckons

In 1915 Leonie’s sister, living in Alaska, invited Leonie to come for a visit. Once again, she fell in love with a new open land and decided to stay in Cordova, Alaska, and offer dental services. Eventually, Alaska became her permanent home.

She left only for a short time to complete dental post-graduate work in Illinois. When she returned to Cordova, the local dentist died from the 1918 Flu Pandemic. Leonie promptly bought his office and equipment and set up shop.

In the years to come, Leonie would move to Anchorage and Nome. She traded her experience with the Model T for a mobile dental service via dogsled!

By the 1930s, Leonie had relocated back to California. America had plunged into the Great Depression, and very few people had the money for dental visits. Undeterred, Leonie persevered.

In 1933 she took a job with President Roosevelt’s CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), where she provided dental care to over 4,000 young men who had hired on to help maintain parks and roads in rural areas.

Her last job was in Tehachapi, California, where she became the leading dentist for the California Institute for Women – a women’s prison.

Leonie died in 1944 at the age of 61, after having blazed the way for other women to enter the field of dentistry.

Undeniably, one strong woman! Thank you to Memed Nurrohmad for the Pixabay image. And if you enjoyed Leonie’s story and are not yet a follower of this monthly blog, please sign up on the right sidebar.

You can catch up with me on my website – www.lindasittig.com or Twitter @LHsittig or Facebook as Linda Sittig. My current three novels, Cut From Strong Cloth, Last Curtain Call, and Counting Crows, are available in stand-alone bookstores and online.

Right now, I am hard at work finishing up edits on my next two books! Stay tuned to learn more, and in the meantime, remember to brush and floss!

~ Linda

Dr. Frank Dunne, this month’s blog is dedicated to you😊